The research focus of this NSF-funded Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) for Directed Assembly of Nanostructures is to discover and develop the means to assemble nanoscale building blocks with unique properties into functional structures under well-controlled, intentionally directed conditions. Their overall mission is to integrate research, education, and technology dissemination to serve as a national and international resource for fundamental knowledge and applications in directed assembly of nanostructures.